Israel Matzav

Dumkopf offended that Israelis found him offensive

With apologies to those of you who did not grow up in the 60's and therefore don't get the reference in the post's title or the picture....

European parliament speaker Martin Schulz is offended that so many Israeli Knesset members found him offensive.

These officials said that Schulz was “surprised and hurt” and stressed that “he is a friend of Israel” who came to Jerusalem to "express support for Israel and strengthen it."

...

The officials who spoke to Walla! said that Schulz wanted to visit Israel to show support for the peace process and deliver a clear message that he opposes boycotts against Israel, which he had done a day earlier when he spoke at the Hebrew University.

"He never imagined he would be embroiled into such a storm," they said. "His goal was to strengthen Israel, and the Israeli response reinforces those elements who have a negative attitude towards Israel.”

The officials added that Schulz was particularly hurt by Bennett’s remarks and by the fact that Bennett had chosen to use Schulz’s German citizenship in order to attack him, referring to Bennett’s statements that he “listened attentively to the European Parliament Chairman's speech... he expressed friendship towards Israel and pain and empathy regarding the Holocaust and the past.”

Schultz was further offended, according to the EU officials, by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s remarks. Netanyahu  responded from the Knesset plenum to the furor surrounding Schulz’s speech, saying the European President had not bothered to check the facts.

The officials explained that Europe had expected Netanyahu to reprimand Bennett for his criticism and positively emphasize Schulz’s opposition to boycotts. Instead, they said, Netanyahu joined the criticism and presented Schulz as a sucker who is influenced by Palestinian lies.

I would say that portrayal is pretty accurate... a sucker who is influenced by 'Palestinian' lies.

And that's putting a nice spin on what he said....

Schulz himself admitted, in conversation with the German magazine Die Welt on Wednesday night, that he had been surprised by the reaction his speech received.

"I was surprised and filled with sadness in the face of the criticism," he told the magazine, stressing that he is pro-Israel.

Schulz further said that he was obliged to present to the Knesset the position of the European Parliament and could not “restrict my remarks to things that everyone loves to hear.”

We don't love the European parliament very much do we... and the feeling is more than mutual.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, European anti-Semitism, European Parliament, Israeli Knesset, Naftali Bennett, Palestinian lies

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:24 PM